Updates – Personal – Medical-Loving Others- Seriously!?!

Wow! It’s been a long time since my last blog post. Life has had me running in circles for months now. But as promised, here are some updates.. I hope you have some time to spend and if you do, grab yourself something to drink, kick back and enjoy the reading..

Loving Others :

I would like to introduce you to Angela Faddis….

Pictured here are Angela, her husband and her babies.. Beautiful family aren’t they?

Sadly, Angela was diagnosed a year ago with Colon Cancer… She has been through all the medical proceedures and treatments available and to our sadness, Angela has reached the limit of what medical intervention can do for her.

This is Angela today.. She has been diagnosed as stage 4 colon cancer and is currently enrolled in Hospice care.. As you saw above, she has a husband and two young children who need her very much..While there is nothing more that the medical professionals can do for her, for those of us who believe God is the ultimate physician and can heal and do anything we are praying for a complete healing for Angela. My friend and Catholic Lay Evangelist , Gary Zimak of Following The Truth has set up a ticker on his website. Whats this ticker for? Well, it is for the Spiritual Bouquet we are sending to Angela made up of our prayers. We are saying Hail Mary’s , Rosaries, Chaplets and all kinds of prayers for Angela’s healing. Over 7 thousands prayers have been said and delivered to Angela and her family within the last few days. With God there is always hope and we pray it is His Divine Will to heal Angela.. If you would like to join us, all you have to do is pray for Angela. Please visit Following The Truth and look over on the side bar and you’ll see the ticker. Enter in how many prayers you have said for Angela and then they are passed onto Angela and her husband. Angela is aware of how many hundreds of people are praying for her. Won’t you be one more? If you would like to learn more about Angela please visit the FaceBook page set up for her called Support Angela Faddis and please, start sending up those prayers. You won’t be sorry you did.. Thank You..

Personal Update

As for my own health, nothing much has changed. I still have all the medical problems I’ve had.. Lately I am much more tired and feeling a bit more poorly than usual. I have a lot more responsibilty on me with Mr L. being so incapcitated because of his back. I pray every day to God to help get me through and He doesn’t let me down..

And, I finally decided it was time to for a hair cut. A short hair cut. I’ve had long hair all my life so this is a drastic change for me but I couldn’t stand it anymore.. Is that a sign of getting old?.. I also decided it was time to cover the grays so, the 1st of this month I found a wonderful hair dresser who is only a few blocks from me. Her shop is lovely, quiet and you just feel completely comfortable being there. It was a great experience for me. Im not one for going to the hair dresser but this experience was so good and my hairdresser was so nice and understood exactly what I wanted that this time, she has a customer for life.. She’s awesome!.. She gave me a great cut and did some foil colors to hide the gray and Wah-lah. Here is the finished product.

Personally, I love it. It’s super super easy to care for.. Only minutes in the morning with my fingers and I am done!..

My Eric

This week my nephew Eric came down with his girl, his best friend Anthony who I have not seen since grammar school, (he and Eric are now 24 yrs old) and Anthony’s girl.

I didn’t see much of him this week but that’s OK, I was just glad I saw him at all.. He had been here in January and we spent a lot of quality time together so this time he wanted to come down with his friends for fun in Myrtle Beach and that was A OK with me..At least I know he likes it here and will be back..

Bailey Boo

My sweet little Bailey Boo who is only months away (November) from being 12 years old began limping in the beginning of the week.. I honestly didn’t think much of it because I thought maybe he had a sprain or something as Bailey loves to jump off the bed, on the couch etc… Trust me, I’ve tried to get him to stop.. It’s nearly impossible and I am not going to put a gate up in front of every piece of furniture I own!..

Well by Thursday he was now hopping. He couldn’t or didn’t seem to want to put the right leg down on the floor so I thought well, better get him into the doctor..

Two sets of X-rays and over $300.00 (I was floored) later, turns out my little boy has a double ear infection AND he has really bad arthritis. We have him on an anti-inflammatory he gets every other day which, I am not happy about as these types of drugs can be very harsh if not deadly in dogs but we are going to keep a good eye on him and the
first sign of trouble he’s coming off.. My vet called this morning to check on him. Thanks Dr H!…

Mr. L. – Medical Update.

Mr. L. had his appointment at Duke University Hospital in North Carolina on Wednesday of this week. Thank you Kim and Bob (last name omitted for privacy) for being such a blessing to us and to God for sending them to us..

As per the surgeon, while Mr. L’s back is in very bad condition it’s not the worst he’s seen.. Thats a good thing!..Dr. R. told hubby that because of the “hatchet job”, his words not ours, that was done on him in 2009, the bottom of his spine is completely mangled. He said it can be fixed but “it will just be hell getting there”. Again, his words, not ours..Another good point is, Mr. L. will not have to be cut open in the back and the front as we were originally told here in South Carolina. don’t get seriously sick in South Carolina, you might be better off in Africa. He will only have to be opened from the back although it will be it a very long incision. From the tailbone to the very beginning of the chest area also known as, the T section (thoracic). They will then have to cut out a wedge of his spine, break his spine in a small section as his spine has grown into a bowed shape (Mr L hasn’t stood upright in over two years). Then they will implant all new metal and stabilizer rods.

Mr L. will have to spend two days in ICU on a respirator and then 4 days in a regular room before he can come home. So, while serious and very frightening, it’s not as horrific as what these so called ‘doctors’ here in South Carolina told us.

Now for the bad part, well one of the bad parts.. The surgeon wants Mr L. off of his major pain medication which is, Oxycontin. Granted, Mr L. is on a lot of pain medication that really isn’t doing much at this point but it helps somewhat. The reason for withdrawing the Oxycontin is because it is an opioid and they supress the breathing. The surgeon said that because he wants Mr L. on a respirator during surgery and in ICU, if he is loaded with Oxycontin it’s going to create a very dangerous situation and he will have a hard time controlling Mr L.’s breathing environment. So its a necessary evil that he has to come off. With the pain he is in now, I don’t even want to think about whats going to happen when the Oxycontin is withdrawn but as with everything else, we will take it one step and day at a time and pray ALOT.. We see our MD next week to start weening Mr L off..

Seriously!?!??!

Well, isn’t it always about money?

Mr L. will have to be hospitalized for 6 to 7 days. Because of my own disability I can not drive the four hours it takes to get to North Carolina so I am going to ask a friend if they can drive us up there. I will be staying with Mr L because there is no way I am going to leave him alone to undergo such a serious operation. Due to this, I have to come up with money to pay for a hotel room that is an efficiency room because once again, due to my disability I need to cook for myself what I can swallow and I will also need to pay for a rental car for these seven days as the walking distance from the hotels to the hospital is physically impossible for me to walk.

And, I also don’t have anyone here who can care for my seven dogs while we are away and even if I did , I have 4 little ones who have special medical needs that will need to be taken care of so it’s not just a matter of someone looking after them. Because of this I will need to board them. I got a price today from the vet to board all seven dogs for seven days.. I almost hit the floor.. It’s going to cost $1300.00.. Yes thats One Thousand, Three Hundred Dollars and change for seven days to board and care for them. Seriously!??!?!

When all is said and done between the rental car, the hotel room and the boarding I am going to need $2000.00.. Who’s got that laying around ? And I have no way to get my hands on it as far as a loan or anyone I know who would lend it to me. So as of right now, Im kind of panicking because I only have until November 18th to somehow get a hold of the money we will need. I have a minimal amount of jewelry I could sell which will bring in something but I don’t think much. I”m going to look into seeing if I can sell some of our furniture as well.. Placing the ads to sell is the easy part. The hard part is finding someone who wants to buy the pieces….Ummm, if anyone cares to help out and make a donation I would be eternally grateful and you can do that through PayPal using the email address of , RobynGreco@aol.com

So folks there you have it.. Updates and more Updates.. I haven’t had any time to write on my blog nor read many others which I miss because I love reading others blogs but lately it’s just so difficult to find the time and when I finally do I am usually too exhausted to make a coherent sentence..

Post navigation

God will hear and answer your prayers concerning finances. I have been at the end of my rope more than once in the last few months and somehow He always comes through. So don't lost faith. You NEED to be there with him. There is no question about it. I am sorry he has had to endure so much for lousy surgery in the past. Can he be put on a Fentanyl patch that won't suppress his breathing? I would not exhaust all the pain relief options for this time. Praying for you and hoping all goes well. Many hugs from the West Coast!

I think some of the hotels near the hospital run free shuttles back and forth to the hospital. When my FIL was having surgery at Duke my MIL took the shuttle (I can't ask her about it, because she is now in heaven;-) ). But check it out! Also , I have had 5 different people in this area tell me how acupuncture helped them with pain. One said she hadn't been able to walk until she started on routine acupuncture. I don't know what you think about it, but these people got relief–so I just thought I would mention it if the pain becomes unbearable as he gets off the meds. This is the person these people mentioned: http://alternativehealthclinicmb.com/custom_content/c_97115_dr_jin_li_dong.html These people were people I don't know well, one was a friend of my son a few years back, one was someone I met at the wellness center years ago, one was a neighbor, one an old co-worker, etc. So if you get desperate for your hubby it might be something—then again they don't take everyone.

Robyn, it's not raining in your world, it's pouring. I am praying for Angela, for full healing. And praying that somehow you find the help, and the funds that you need.Are there organizations that could help you out?Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

@Kim…We've thought about Acupuncture in the past but Insurance doesn't cover it and we can't afford to pay for it out of pocket. Thanks for all the info though :)@Jen..Thank you for the prayers.. We all need so many.. As for organizations, I honestly don't know and wouldn't even know where to look.. @Laura, Lou has been on Fentanyl patches for years but they also suppress the breathing.. Anything that does that he can't have. When we see our MD on Weds I will be asking because once they withdraw the Oxycontin it's going to be horrific for him.. Thanks for the hugs and advice too! 🙂 xo

Dear Robyn, Lifting your needs before Him right this second; may His strength daily, minute by minute be poured out on you and your dear husband. Praying for the surgeons and all the staff to have wisdom and answers about managing the pain. Going to Angela's site to let them know I'm praying too. Nothing is too hard with God. Sending hugs and prayers to you today.Noreen

Dear Robyn, Lifting your needs before Him right this second; may His strength daily, minute by minute be poured out on you and your dear husband. Praying for the surgeons and all the staff to have wisdom and answers about managing the pain. Going to Angela's site to let them know I'm praying too. Nothing is too hard with God. Sending hugs and prayers to you today.Noreen

Thank you so much for the prayers.. My husband and I also believe with God there is always hope and there is nothing He can not do… Thanks for the hair cut compliment. This is such a change for me but I absolutely love it! 🙂 God Bless you..

Robyn & The Mr.

Welcome to my blog! I'm Robyn. I am 47 years old married to the love of my life and I am a Northern girl transplanted in the South. Here at Robyns Simple Life its all about simplicity whenever possible. You'll also find posts about my interests and passions which include, my love of the Lord, my life in general, my passions which include my dogs, reading, DIY projects, healthy cooking, beauty and product reviews and much more. I am excited to share with you and I hope you will join me on the adventure I call my life.